Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Giftmakerskan by Sarah Penner

52 reviews

mattiedancer's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Writing: 3⭐️/5 

The writing was fine, adequate, presentable. A few times Penner had some really stunning lines, but mostly the writing did what needed to be done without too much flare or finesse. A lot of sections for backstory were lengthy, giving us a bit of information by flashback and then overexplaining the emotions of the situation. But overall the writing did enough to not get in the way.

Characters: 3.5⭐️/5

I think the characters in the historical sections were much more fascinating than our modern-day protagonist. While I appreciated that Caroline had a lot going on, I also felt like her half-telling of the story made me lose a bit of interest in what was going on. I loved her research-heavy mind, but it felt stunningly unbelievable the way in which she pursued her research so easily after so long. And, while the characters were interesting, they felt a bit surface at times, almost as though we never got a true glimpse of their whole beings.

Plot: 3⭐️/5 

Okay, so the concept? Super cool. The execution? Maybe that’s where I got lost. I loved everything about the apothecary. I even loved the slow unravelling of clues from Caroline’s side, but I also felt like that was the only thing that felt super fleshed out. All the details in the novel felt muddled, as though they were unclear and unformed. I also think that the end kind of undid some of the feminist points made throughout the novel, leaving kind of a sour taste in my mouth at the end.

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Fans of historical books that have a split POV with modern perspective
• Someone looking for a cool concept over everything else
• Fans of witchy history who are looking for an easy read

Content Warnings? 

• Pregnancy, adultery, murder, sexism, misogyny, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, violence, abuse, child abuse, child death, death, death of parent, self-harm, suicide, suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, terminal illness, poison, gun violence, medical trauma, classism, injury, injury detail, fire, pedophilia, incest, infertility 

Post-Reading Rating:  2.75⭐️/5

I just… wanted more? I liked the concept so much but I think everything else fell pretty flat.

Final Rating: 3⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Infertility, Violence, Vomit, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Self harm, Child death, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

annorabrady's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

The story was intriguing, but still left a lot to be desired. Especially when it came to Caroline's POV. I found a lot of her actions to be incredibly dumb, especially in regards to how she took notes. I also didn't understand a lot of her thought processes. I also felt that her husband's presence didn't add to the story except to show the extent to which he was willing and capable of abusing her. But memories alone showed most of that. 

I wish the story had focused more on Eliza. Her part of the story was the most compelling by far. 

Spoiler

Upon further reflection, I have to say that Caroline's story doesn't fit with the themes of the other stories. The others focus on seizing what little control they have over their situations as women of their time by means of harming the people who harmed them. 

Caroline learned almost nothing from her "research" that lent itself to her situation. And she didn't even intend to hurt her husband. If he hadn't attempted to force her to stay married to him by way of poisoning himself (a move that he also intended to use as means to frame her for his death should he not live), nothing about her story would have been different despite the attempt at drawing a parallel between the various stories. 

Also, on the bit about him poisoning himself. Are we really supposed to believe that her husband's history of toxic behaviors was limited to "being pragmatic and convincing her to give up her dreams until the right time" and then cheating on her? One doesn't go from infidelity and "risk aversion" to extreme manipulation via self harm and attempts at suicide without there being other attempts at similar methods of control. That level of escalation, especially after 10 years of marriage and however long of dating is unrealistic. Abusers use tactics they know are likely to work based on past acceptance of similar behaviors.

Also also am I really supposed to believe that someone who goes so far as to poison themself as an act of manipulation is going to just accept that it didn't work and leave calmly? Someone willing to go that far is someone who is dangerous. The kind of dangerous where the person leaving shouldn't be alone with their abuser. At all. 

To have that storyline end with a hug and understanding is alarming. This is the kind of storyline that could encourage an abuse victim to stay in an abusive relationship because "well it's not always bad." Or, worse, could encourage someone to attempt a similar "conscious uncoupling" with someone who could seriously hurt them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Murder, Grief, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

phantomgecko's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Caroline is frustratingly naive. (Maybe that's the point?) But naive to the point of unbelievability.  Like, yeah, trespassing is a crime, but so is jaywalking. It's not that big of a deal.

And then the whole scene with trying to look at her trespassing pictures on her phone...... Girl. Guess what. If you're on your phone in the same room as another person.... they probably cannot see what you're seeing. And if they do....it's blurry pictures of a book. If they ask about it....lie.

Naive and stupid tbh.

Spoiler

I'm glad she left her controlling husband though. Piece of garbage man.

The narrative with Nella and Eliza was definitely more interesting. (Though I still have complaints about believability.) The unfolding of the narrative was well done, at least.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Terminal illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Medical content and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death, Abortion, Animal death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Death of parent

lyfeistrip's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Infertility, Incest, Domestic abuse, Child death, Cancer, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Vomit, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, and Death

kimtazo's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Murder, Abortion, and Infertility

Minor: Death of parent and Child death

graceert's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility and Miscarriage

Minor: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse

evhanson's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Miscarriage, Chronic illness, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

seetaylorwriteandreview's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Lost Apothecary is a historical fiction duel timeline story told in the POV of 3 very different characters. 

Caroline is a woman who has gone to London after she finds out about the affair her husband has been having with a coworker. While there, she stumbles upon a little blue vial with a bear image on it. Her journey to find out more about the vial also leads her to find out about herself. 

Nella is the owner of an apothecary in 1790 London. On the outside, it appears like any other apothecary. What’s hiding further in, however, is only known by a select few. 

Eliza is the 12 year old servant girl of Mrs. Amswell. When she’s sent to Nella’s apothecary to procure a specific remedy, it ties Nella and Eliza together in the most unique and adventurous way. 

I absolutely LOVED this book. The further into it I got, the more I wanted to know. The unexpected friendship that Nella and Eliza find themselves in warmed my heart and seeing Caroline dig deeper within to find herself again showed a strength that people find when they have to move forward and aren’t sure how. It’s incredible that one tiny vial united their stories that occur 200 years apart. I am so glad I put this one on my Hopefuls list for this month.! 

Please be sure to check your CW/TW for this one. These include: suicidal attempts/thoughts, SA against minors, and miscarriage/pregnancy loss. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Infertility, and Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

hales_1243's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Death, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Medical content, Gaslighting, and Infertility

Minor: Pedophilia and Sexual harassment